Free Entrance to Glacier National Park This Weekend

Entrance fees to Glacier National Park will be waived Saturday through Monday, November 10-12, Veteran’s Day Weekend, in honor of those that serve and have served in the United States Military.

Glacier National Park, as well as the other 400 sites of the National Park Service, offers a free annual pass to active duty military members and their dependents. The annual pass allows free entrance to national parks and other federal recreation sites.

Active duty members of the U.S. Military and their dependents can obtain their pass at Glacier National Park’s headquarters building or any staffed park entrance station. A current and valid military identification card must be presented to obtain the pass. More information is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.

Winter entrance fees to the park are in effect November 1 - April 30 each year. The park’s winter entrance fee is $15 per vehicle and is valid for seven days. The per-person winter entrance fee for a visitor traveling on foot or bicycle is $10 and is valid for seven days. An annual Glacier National Park pass for unlimited access to the park for one year is available for $35.

Backcountry permits are required for any backcountry overnight visit in the park. Permits for the winter season are available by calling the park up to seven days in advance, or by visiting the park headquarters office, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or the Apgar Visitor Center on weekends, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For backcountry campers desiring to obtain their permit on the east side of the park, please call ahead to arrange a meeting place. Winter backcountry campers need to view the park’s two Winter Backcountry Camping Videos prior to arriving in the park. The videos are available on the park’s YouTube site.

Winter camping is available at the Apgar Picnic Area and the St. Mary Campground. There is no charge for camping at these locations in the winter, and no services are provided.

For additional information about Glacier National Park, visit the park’s website.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Free Entrance to Yellowstone on Veteran's Day

The North and Northeast Entrances to Yellowstone National Park will offer free visitor admission on Friday, November 11, to honor all past and current members of the U.S. Armed Forces. All other park entrances and interior roads close at 8 a.m. on Monday morning, November 7.

All entrance fees, including commercial tour entrance fees and transportation entrance fees, will be waived at all National Park Service sites on Veteran's Day. Free admission is offered to all visitors, not just to veterans or military personnel. This annual fee free day was established in 2006.

Yellowstone has a long and proud association with our nation's military. After struggling for years with limited staff and budget in an effort to thwart souvenir hunters and poachers in Yellowstone's early years, the U.S. Army was called upon to protect the park in 1886.

During the 32 years the U.S. Army was present in the park, it set the tone for conservation and protection of special places like Yellowstone, which still guides the uniformed members of the National Park Service to this day. Among the most visible reminders of the military presence in the park are the stone and tile roofed structures of Fort Yellowstone in Mammoth Hot Springs, which are still used by the park for administration and residences. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the historic fort all year 'round.

The road from the park's North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction, the Lamar Valley, and on to Cooke City, Montana, is open to wheeled vehicle travel all year.

At Mammoth Hot Springs, the Yellowstone General Store, Post Office, medical clinic, campground, and the Albright Visitor Center remain open all year. Pay-at-the-pump fuel is available 24 hours a day all year at the Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction service stations.

Additional information on the military era and on Fort Yellowstone can be found online at http://www.nps.gov/yell/historyculture/ftyell.htm.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com